Category:Pelham Puppets
From BTMM_Wiki
| Toy Brands and Manufacturers |
|---|
Pelham Puppets |
- 'Puppets offer a scope that no other toy can give. In fact it can be said that they are more than a toy; they are a vehicle for self expression. They teach a child to use his hands, they develop the mind and imagination. They bring into your home a new art that will not only be entertaining, but also educational and constructive too. My interest does not end when I have sold a puppet, I want every child who buys a Pelham Puppet to get the best use out of it.'
- - Bob Pelham, 'Pulling Strings' 1
Pelham Puppets was started by by Bob Pelham, who was studying to be an architect before World War Two. During the war, Bob would entertain his comrades with a "Wonkey Donkey" marionette, and after the war was over he went into business producing puppets.
Parts and materials were hard to come by in the post-war austerity, and Bob used his ingenuity to turn army surplus parts and materials into puppets. Wooden toggles, ammunition box partitions and even rubber respirator tubes were all recycled as puppet parts, and jumble sales and rubbish bins were trawled for interesting pieces that could be pressed into service.
Puppet fabrics were often hand-dyed parachute material, and were sometimes taken from old fabric sample books and jumble sales.
Pelham founded Wonkey Toys in 1947, which became Pelham Puppets in ’48, and the business name continued until 1997. As the popularity of the puppets increased, and marionettes played an increasingly important part of children’s tv programming, Pelham produced licensed versions of Muffin the Mule, The Bookworm Family, and Noddy and Bigears, as well as some early Gerry Anderson characters such as Torchy the Battery Boy, Snoopy, and some Disney characters.
They then went on to produce automated marionette displays, and a full-size marionette model, "Bimbo".
As Pelham Puppets grew as a company the continual demand for new stock led to expansions both in staffing and factory space leading to larger and larger orders being sent out. In 1947 the company produced around eighty puppets a week but at Pelham's peak of 1978-9 the number had shot up to five to six thousand. 2
Pelham's puppets were hand-made, and the technology went through various stages, with the early lead and war-surplus parts being replaced by more custom metal and plastic fittings.
External links
Further reading
- David Leech, Yours Puppetually issue 2 (David Leech Publishing, 1996) pp.19
- Ibid, ppp.3
- David Leech, Pelham Puppets: A collectors' guide (Crowood Collectors' Series) (Crowood Press, 2008) ISBN 9781847970558
Pages in category "Pelham Puppets"
The following 28 pages are in this category, out of 28 total.
